Deactivation/reactivation of a Pd/C catalyst in a direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC): Use of array membrane electrode assemblies

Palladium-based catalysts exhibit high activity for formic acid oxidation, but their catalytic activity decreases quite rapidly under direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) operating conditions. This paper presents a systematic study of the deactivation and electrochemical reactivation of a carbon supported palladium catalyst (Pd/C) employing anode arrays in a DFAFC. Deactivation of Pd/C is caused by the electro-oxidation of the formic acid, and does not occur significantly at open circuit. Its rate increases sharply with increasing formic acid concentration but is only dependent on potential at high cell voltages. Reactivation can be achieved by driving the cell voltage to a reverse polarity of −0.2 V or higher. The use of array membrane electrode assemblies allows the rapid generation of statistically significant information on differences between catalysts, and the effects of operational parameters on the deactivation and reactivation processes.